HomeMy Public PortalAboutCity Council_Ordinance No. 24-1074__2/20/2024_RegularORDINANCE NO. 24-1074
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF TEMPLE CITY, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING SECTION
3-5E-10 "TEMPORARY EXCLUSION OF VIOLATORS"
OF THE TEMPLE CITY MUNICIPAL CODE PERTAINING
TO THE TEMPORARY EXCLUSION OF PARKGOERS
WHO VIOLATE APPLICABLE LAWS
WHEREAS, the City of Temple City ("City") operates three major parks within the
City —Live Oak Park, Primrose Park, and Temple City Park; and
WHEREAS, there have been an increasing number of incidents at City parks, in
which individuals verbally and physically intimidate, abuse, assault, and/or threaten City
staff and park patrons and vandalize and damage park facilities and vehicles; and
WHEREAS, the proposed Ordinance is based on best practices and lessons
learned from other jurisdictions, including the cities of Glendale, Montclair, and Roseville
and the County of Los Angeles; and
WHEREAS, currently, Section 3-5E-5 (Ejectment) of Title 3 of of Chapter 5 of the
Temple City Municipal Code ("TCMC") authorizes the Parks and Recreation director to
eject from any City park any person found to be violating the TCMC provisions on conduct
in City parks, but does not authorize the Parks and Recreation Director to ban violators
from City parks for any period of time; and
WHEREAS, the proposed Ordinance would authorize the Parks and Recreation
Director or Sheriff to temporarily remove and exclude individuals from City parks who fail
to comply with applicable laws, rules, and regulations for a set period of time; and
WHEREAS, the proposed Ordinance would require the Parks and Recreation
Director or Sheriff to issue a warning before a removal or exclusion order is issued unless
the conduct at issue involves certain type of conduct, such as dangerous or threatening
behavior, property damage over $1,000, lighting or maintaining a fire, or conduct for which
the person has previously been excluded from a park before; and
WHEREAS, if a person violated the proposed Ordinance they would be banned
from a City park or parks for 30 days unless their conduct was one of the prohibited
categories mentioned previously, in which case they would be banned for 60 days. A
second exclusion within a 12 -month period under the proposed Ordinance will be effective
for 90 days and additional exclusion orders issued within a 12 -month period of the second
exclusion order would be effective for 180 days; and
WHEREAS, the proposed Ordinance would also permit persons to appeal their
removal or exclusion orders; and
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WHEREAS, all legal prerequisites to the adoption of this ordinance have occurred.
THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TEMPLE CITY ORDAINS
AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1: AMENDMENT. Section 3-5E-10 "Temporary Exclusion of Violators"
is hereby amended in Chapter 5 "Parks and Civic Center", Title 3 "Public Safety" of the
City of Temple City Municipal Code to read as follows in Exhibit A.
SECTION 2: Severability. The City Council declares that, should any provision,
section; paragraph, sentence or word of this Ordinance be rendered or declared invalid
by any final court action in a court of competent jurisdiction, or by reason of any
preemptive legislation, the remaining provisions, sections, paragraphs, sentences and
words of this Ordinance shall remain in full force and effect.
SECTION 3: CEQA. The City Council finds that this Ordinance is not subject to
environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") because
the Ordinance is an activity that is excluded from the definition of a project by section
21065 of the Public Resources Code and section 15378(b) of the State CEQA Guidelines.
The proposed Ordinance amendments to Municipal Code Section 3-5E-10 are
organizational or administrative activities of government which will not result in direct or
indirect physical changes to the environment.
SECTION 4: Certification and Publication. The City Clerk shall certify to the
passage and adoption of this Ordinance and to its approval by the Mayor and shall cause
the same to be published according to law.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this 20 day of February 2024.
illiam Man,Mayor
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ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Peggy Kuo, City Clerk
Greg Murphy, City Attorney
Ordinance No. 24-1074 was introduced for first reading at the City Council Regular
Meeting of February 6, 2024, and adopted at the City Council Regular Meeting of
February 20, 2024, by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
Councilmember- Sternquist, Vizcarra, Chavez, Man
Councilmember- None
Councilmember- Yu
Councilmember- None
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Exhibit A
Section 3-5E-10 "Temporary Exclusion of Violators"
A. Permission to be within the limits of any park or to use any facilities, is conditioned
on persons complying with all applicable provisions of this Chapter or any other laws,
ordinances, rules, or regulations applicable to the City's parks. A violation of any provision
of this Chapter or of any order, rule, or regulation authorized by this Chapter, or of any
other applicable law, ordinance, rule, or regulation will result in the person in violation
thereof being a trespasser, and the Director, an attendant, or any peace and/or code
enforcement officer ("Enforcement Official"), may remove or exclude the person from a
park in accordance with this Section in addition to any other remedy or penalty.
B. Nothing in this section will be construed to authorize the removal or exclusion of
any person lawfully engaged in any constitutionally protected activity. However, a person
lawfully exercising these protected rights but who commits an act that is not protected
can be subject to removal or exclusion.
1. For the purposes of this section, removal is an order given by the
Enforcement Official, directing a person to immediately leave a park and not return
for the remainder of the day.
2. For the purposes of this section, exclusion is an order given by the
Enforcement Official, directing a person to immediately leave a park and not return
for the period of days specified in this section.
3. Before issuing an exclusion order, the person will be given a verbal or
written warning describing the conduct giving rise to the exclusion and a
reasonable opportunity to stop the conduct. An exclusion order will not be issued
if the person promptly complies with the direction and stops the conduct. A warning
is not required before issuing an exclusion order where the behavior, conduct, or
activity constitutes one or more of the following:
a. A felony or misdemeanor;
b. Obscene, violent, riotous conduct, hunting and/or possession of
weapons in violation of 3-5B-7 and/or 3-5D-4, hitching of animals, feeding
animals, pollution of waters, dumping of refuse and trash in violation of 3-
5B estimated to cost $1,000 or more to clean up; and possession or setting
off of firecrackers, torpedoes, rockets or other fireworks or explosives of
inflammable material in violation of 3-5D-9;
c. Lighting or maintaining a fire in any park;
d. Conduct resulting in property damage estimated to be $1,000 or
more;
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e. Dangerous or threatening behavior. Behavior is dangerous or
threatening if a reasonable person exposed to or experiencing such
behavior could believe that the person would be in imminent danger of
physical harm. Actual bodily harm is not required; and
f. Conduct for which a documented prior exclusion order has been
issued and not overturned on appeal.
4. Written notice of the exclusion order will be provided to any person
excluded. The notice will briefly describe the conduct and list the provision of law
that is the basis for the exclusion; the date, length, and place of exclusion; a
description of the process for filing an appeal; and a warning of the consequences
for failure to comply. The exclusion notice shall be signed by the issuing
Enforcement Official. The Director may use reasonable discretion to determine
multiple park facilities for the exclusion.
5. The exclusion order will be effective for 30 days, except as stated in
paragraph B.6, during which time the violator may not return to the listed park or
park facilities. A second exclusion order for the same violator, whether or not issued
within the same park, that is issued within a 12 -month period will be effective for
60 days. Additional exclusion orders issued within a 12 -month period of the second
exclusion order will be effective for 90 days. No exclusion order overturned on
appeal will be counted.
6. The duration of the first exclusion shall be 60 days if one or more of the
following occur:
a. A felony;
b. Property damage estimated to be $1,000 or more; or
c. Dangerous or threatening behavior as defined in this Section.
A second exclusion for a person described in this Subsection B.6 within a
12 -month period will be effective for 120 days. Additional exclusion orders issued
within 12 -month period of the second exclusion order for a person described in this
Subsection will be effective for 180 days. No exclusion order overturned on appeal
will be counted.
C. Appeal.
1. The City Manager shall serve as hearing officer on appeal and shall conduct
a fair and impartial hearing.
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2. A person issued a notice of exclusion may appeal the notice within five days
by filing a written appeal with the City Manager. The written appeal shall include
the exclusion notice number, reason(s) the person should not have been excluded,
and a phone number, address or email at which the City may serve the cited
individual a response to their request. Filing an appeal does not preclude the
issuance of an exclusion order for a new violation of this Section.
3. Upon receipt of a timely and complete notice of appeal, the exclusion order
will be stayed. The City Manager will set an administrative hearing that shall be de
novo. The exclusion order will be upheld if the City Manager determines by a
preponderance of evidence that the person committed the act for which the person
was excluded, and the exclusion is otherwise in accordance with the law. Evidence
may include, without limitation, witness testimony, documents, or other similar
evidence. In lieu of personally appearing at an administrative hearing, the cited
individual may request that the City Manager decide the matter based on the
notice, the written appeal, and any other documentary evidence submitted prior to
the hearing date.
4. The City Manager shall issue a written decision responding to the appeal
within 5 business days. The decision of the City Manager on appeal shall be final.
D. The City shall maintain an accurate database of those persons excluded from
parks or park facilities by their respective employees.
E. Notwithstanding Section 3-5E-9, a violation of a removal or exclusion order is
unlawful and may be charged as a misdemeanor, as provided by Section 1.2.0. Nothing
in this Section limits the authority of the City to obtain an injunction prohibiting or restricting
park access by any person.
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